 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 106, 27 June 2005 |
Welcome to this year's 26th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! This year's Linux Tag is behind us, which means that the new KNOPPIX 4.0 Live DVD, the biggest collection of current open source software on a live DVD ever created, is available from your nearest torrent site; it should also be released to FTP mirrors shortly. In the meantime, a SUSE 9.3 installation DVD image is now making its way to many of the SUSE mirror servers worldwide - check your favourite one today or later in the week for a 4.2GB ISO file. Also in this issue: an interview with Ryan Quinn, the Project Manager of Symphony OS and an introduction to Xearth, Xplanet & KWorldClock. Happy reading!
Content:
- News: KNOPPIX 4.0 in the torrent, SUSE 9.3 on mirrors
- Obituary: Libranet's Jon Danzig
- Interview: Ryan Quinn, Symphony OS
- Released last week
- Fedora Core 5, Vidalinux 1.2, Turbolinux Personal
- New additions: Snøfrix, Tugux GNU/Linux, TumiX, Underground Desktop
- New on the waiting list: Atomix Linux, BOSS, The Jackass! Project, LDIOS
- Applications: Xearth, Xplanet & KWorldClock
KNOPPIX 4.0 in the torrent, SUSE 9.3 on mirrors
 The much awaited Live DVD edition of KNOPPIX 4.0 was finally revealed at Linux Tag last week. As expected, it didn't take long before the 4GB ISO image was turned into a torrent file to be shared by thousands of users across the cyberspace. The new version contains over 2,600 packages, including the full KDE 3.4.1 and GNOME 2.8.1 desktop environments (this is the first appearance of GNOME in KNOPPIX since version 3.1 released in January 2003!), OpenOffice.org 2.0 beta, and the usual range of server, development and multimedia applications. The DVD boots into German by default, but this can be changed with the "lang=us" cheatcode (several other languages are also supported). KNOPPIX 4.0 is clearly the largest and most up-to-date live Linux DVD ever produced.
One of the interesting new features is the ability to switch between the different desktop environments. The "KNOPPIX X-Restart" dialog now allows selection between KDE, GNOME, WindowMaker, IceWM, XFce 3, XFce 4, Fluxbox, LarsWM, Openbox, RatPoison and TWM. If all these choices are a little bewildering, then rest assured that the promised "light" CD edition is still in the pipeline. Klaus Knopper explains in this forum post: "Of course, the ISO of DVD will appear on the mirrors soon, but I still need some time for making the CD 'light' version, so both are available at the same time."
KNOPPIX 4.0 "Maxi" DVD - the first KNOPPIX release since version 3.1 that includes the GNOME desktop
(full image size: 850kB)
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 The full, installable ISO image of SUSE LINUX 9.3 should finally start appearing on mirrors near you by the time you read this. As with SUSE 9.2, the 4.2GB DVD image contains both x86 and x86_64 RPM packages and it can be installed on both of the two most popular processor architectures. The ISO image is labelled as "EVAL", which is Novell's new way of indicating that the company provides the free ISO image for evaluation purposes, but if you end up using it, you are still expected to purchase the full retail edition. The ISO image is already available from the company's main FTP server, but we strongly recommend that you wait until some of the SUSE mirrors synchronise with the main server before attempting to download it - you will likely get it much faster that way. As always, have a lot of fun!
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One of the obstacles preventing a more wide-spread migration to 64-bit computing is the fact that the increasingly popular OpenOffice.org does not compile on the AMD64 platform. As a result, it has to be run either through a 32-bit library compatibility layer or from a chroot-ed 32-bit system, neither of which is an ideal solution. The good news is that the developers of OpenOffice.org have been working on providing a 64-bit compatible OpenOffice.org release starting from version 2.0. The bad news is that much work still needs to be done before it compiles cleanly, as documented by Pavel Janik, a SUSE developer:
"Build time on Dual Opteron 242 with 2G RAM is 1 hour, 19 minutes for en-US only build, with -P1 only and hot ccache. And now: what works? Splash screen works, first time installation can be correctly finished. Help is not available, because we build without Java (but after you copy the contents of help directory from x86 build to the right place, help is working correctly). About window is OK and also Ctrl+S+D+T works there. You can open new documents. In the file dialogs, no filter names are displayed, only file extensions."
Find more information in OpenOffice.org@AMD64: Current Status.
* * * * *
 As our regular readers know, the Linux distribution world was recently saddened by the sudden death of Libranet's founder and CEO - Jon Danzig. The latest Libranet newsletter provides more information about the sad event:
"Jon Danzig, 57, passed away on June 1st 2005 nearly a year and a half after he was diagnosed with cancer in October of 2003. The time from his diagnosis to his death was a long and difficult journey helped by family and friends.
Jon founded Libra Computer Systems in 1984 selling Unix systems and custom software solutions. In 1999 Jon became excited about the possibilities of the GNU/Linux system, and along with Tal, his son, released the first version of Libranet later that year. It was Jon's vision that made Libranet into the product that it is today. Tal takes over as leader of the Libranet team, continuing Jon's legacy.
Away from Libranet, Jon enjoyed the British Columbia wilderness where he and his family hiked. He held a private pilot's license which brought him great joy and a sense of accomplishment. Jon will be missed by his family, the Libranet team, and the Libranet community.
Donations in Jon's memory can be made to the North Shore Palliative Care Program c/o Lions Gate Hospital Foundation or to the Western Canada Wilderness Committee."
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 Finally, something much less serious - a handful of great desktop wallpapers for popular distributions: Proposed Ubuntu artwork and other silliness. Please note: only click on the above link if you have any sense of humour. You have been warned!
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| Interview: Ryan Quinn, Symphony OS |
This section of the DistroWatch Weekly has been traditionally dedicated to a "featured" distribution of the week. To make it more varied, we are going to make a slight change here - on alternate weeks we will get in touch with the developers of some of the more interesting distributions and ask them a few questions. As always, if you have a favourite distribution and would like to see their project leader or developers interviewed here, feel free to suggest an interview and questions in the forum below. For today's issue we have interviewed Ryan Quinn, the Project Manager of Symphony OS.
DW: Ryan, thank you very much for your time to answer a few questions. First, can you introduce yourself briefly? How old are you? What do you do for living? And what is your role in the development of Symphony OS?
RQ: Well, I live in the US in Dubuque, Iowa, am 27 years old, and have been working as a web programmer and developer for about seven years, first independently and for the last four years for an Internet service wholesaler who sells turn-key ISP services to small and medium sized dial up ISPs. I am the Project Manager for the Symphony OS Project.
DW: With its unique user interface and design concepts, Symphony OS is without doubt the most interesting and innovative Linux distribution in a long time. How did the idea come about?
RQ: About three years ago I began thinking about how I could go about creating a browser driven desktop. Like myself there are a lot of web developers out there who would love to get deeper into Linux but the desktop space is generally a C/C++ world and there can be a pretty steep learning curve there. Symphony OS on the other hand uses some existing software (such as our firefox renderer and fvwm) and implements the rest in a fashion that allows anyone who knows html and a bit of perl to really get deep into the internals of their desktop environment. The second goal was to make it easy to use for just about anyone.
Symphony OS - one of the most innovative distributions on the market
(full image size: 434kB, screenshot courtesy of SymphonyOS.com, more screenshots here)
DW: It has been about 6 weeks since you opened the project to general public. What sort of reaction have you been getting from users who have tried out the first public alpha release of Symphony OS?
RQ: The reaction has been amazing. Our user and developer community has been growing every day and I have heard from people all over the world who are interested in helping. It has really been great to have so much extra help and though I have been spending more time on the forums than before, our development has sped up with more people working on the various tasks we have for the next release.
DW: Symphony OS is based around the Mezzo Desktop. It is easy to see how a non-technical computer user might be enticed by such a beautiful and convenient design, but what about those of us who are accustomed to the KDE and GNOME interfaces? What does Mezzo do better than the existing popular desktops?
RQ: It seems that most desktop environments have sacrificed simplicity for configurability. I have met many people who have their windows PC still displaying the default settings right down to the bliss desktop. Many people would rather have things be simple and just work than have the ability to remake their desktop the way they want it. The nice thing about the way we have put together Symphony is that we achieve that simplicity but still give the geeks out there the ability to get into the code much easier than with other desktop environments and change pretty much everything if they choose to. There are a lot of people who love GNOME or KDE and both have their place just as Mezzo does. I like to think of Mezzo as an almost appliance like interface. It is designed to work the way it is supposed to and assist in getting tasks done, no more, no less.
DW: Mezzo Desktop seems to be the brainchild of Jason Spisak, a former Lycoris developer. Is Jason a member of your development team or are you just adopting his design ideas? How many developers work on Symphony OS?
RQ: As I understand it, Jason was the co-founder of Lycoris and their VP of Marketing, being the second man on board after Joseph. I am not sure what exactly Jason's position within Symphony would be but he is equal in the project with myself though he tends to keep more to the background. Jason is really a designer and not a developer as he himself would be the first to tell you. Within a few weeks after I began the Symphony OS Project I received an email from Jason who then showed me these amazing mockups for what later would become the Mezzo Desktop environment. They blew me away. They were absolutely perfect for what I was doing and we have been partners in the project ever since. Currently Jason and I are the only members of the project with anything like an official role in development. Over the last several weeks, though we have added several new developers to the community who have been contributing code back.
DW: What is the business plan? Will Symphony OS be a free community project or are there plans to turn it into a commercial entity?
RQ: Symphony OS will not turn into a commercial entity, and will always remain a free community project. We are looking into eventually setting up a non-profit foundation to foster development of Symphony OS.
DW: How much work is there left before we see a stable Symphony OS? Is there a roadmap?
RQ: We are not as organized as we would like to be. Currently we have been mapping out a to-do for each release and working towards it. We are on a feature based release schedule rather than a calendar based one, this way we can avoid releasing incomplete or overly buggy ISOs just to get them out on time. I can say with a fair bit of certainty that the upcoming Alpha 4 will be our last alpha release before heading into beta.
DW: Ryan, thank you very much and best of luck with your project!
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| Released Last Week |
UTUTO 2005.1
A new version of UTUTO, the only free (libre) distribution, as endorsed by Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation, has been released. Based on Gentoo Linux, UTUTO is put together by a group of developers in Argentina. The latest release is the result of 4 months of development and testing with ISO images for several popular processor types now available for free download. The developers are also planning to build a set of live CDs at a later date. Here is the complete release announcement (in Spanish). Although the UTUTO web site is in Spanish, the distribution also supports English, Italian and Portuguese languages.
Càtix 1.1
Càtix is a Knoppix-based Linux live CD with complete support for the Catalan language. A new version 1.1 was released on Sunday for inclusion in El Periódico, one of the most widely-read daily newspapers in Barcelona, Spain, with a circulation of over 250,000 copies. Càtix 1.1 is now also available for download from public FTP servers. The new version includes both KDE 3.4 and GNOME 2.8, it comes with an improved hardware auto-detection module and new programs for hard disk installation and system configuration, as well as several newly included applications, such as JClic, amaroK, Kaffeine, Rosegarden, etc. More information is available in this release announcement (in Catalan).
Mandriva MNF2
Mandriva has announced the release of its Multi Network Firewall (MNF), version 2: "Mandriva, formerly Mandrakesoft, today announced the second versions of its comprehensive infrastructure and security system Multi Network Firewall. MNF2 provides advanced firewalling, IDS (Intrusion Detection System) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) capabilities in a single product made easy to use by a simple web interface. New features include new types of VPN such as PPTP and OpenVPN, network interface bonding and bridging, traffic shaping, network mapping and peer-to-peer filtering. MNF2 ships with one year online security update service and support options. Price: US$550 / €500." For more information please read the press release and visit the product's feature page.
Auditor Security Linux 200605
Auditor Security Linux is a Knoppix-based live CD with a large collection of security-related tools and utilities. Version 200605 was released today: "I am proud to announce the release of the new version of the Auditor Security Collection CD-ROM. We put in a lot of effort to bring it into that final look and feel as you can see in the Auditor development log. It seems to be the best version released ever. Not only because of its completeness, but also because it seems to be the most stable and bug-free version. You will see that in this version you have to choose between two different ISO versions. This has to be done because systems with an integrated Intel b/g chip based wireless card will not boot with the ipw2100 driver on the CD." Find more details in the release announcement and changelog.
Kate OS 2.1
A new version of Kate OS has been released: "Kate OS 2.1 released! The new version of our system contains NPTL, which increases the efficiency in critical moments. We've added some improvements, such as support of Reiser 4 filesystem. Kate OS 2.1 has been carefully tested, so many bugs from the previous versions have been fixed. We updated many packages, including the XFce environment. In the latest release you can find the improved version of 'updateos' tool, which is now able to show the progress of the actualisation and download speed. Kate OS 2.1 is definitely the best version of that system and is recommended to everyone, who wants to begin his experience with our product." Read the rest of the release announcement on the project's home page.
TumiX 0.9
TumiX is a Peruvian Linux distribution based on Slackware and SLAX. It provides the KDE desktop environment together with a large number of academic, office and multimedia applications. The distribution is targeted at colleges, universities and Peruvian educational institutions in general in order to help teaching and understanding GNU/Linux and to spread the use of Free Software in Peru. Tumix is an initiative of the Peruvian Community of Free Software and is distributed under the General Public License. Version 0.9 is the project's first public release; it is based on Slackware 10.1 with kernel 2.6.10, X.Org 6.8.1, KDE 3.4.0, GNOME 2.6, and some interesting images with Peruvian motives. Here is the complete release announcement (in Spanish) with download links.
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Development and unannounced releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Fedora Core 5
Although it has only been two weeks since the release of Fedora Core 4, its developers have already started planning for the next release, details of which can be found in Proposed Development Areas for Fedora Core 5 and Fedora Project. Some of the more interesting proposed features include a graphical package manager, a Fedora live CD, a new sound server, Xen virtualisation, boot and shutdown speed improvements, encrypted file systems, and many other enhancements. The list is still subject to change, but if most of these improvements are implemented, we can look forward to another exciting Fedora release in the not too distant future.
Vidalinux 1.2 (postponed)
The developers of Vidalinux have announced that their upcoming release, previously scheduled for release early last week, has been postponed until early August: "Due to some unforeseen complications, VLOS 1.2 has been delayed and is now been scheduled for general availability on August 1. We apologize for the inconvenience." Here is the updated announcement, together with some of the expected new features.
Turbolinux Personal
Turbolinux has announced that it will start shipping a low-cost Linux distribution for developers - Turbolinux Personal edition. The new product, complete with Star Suite 7, Oracle JDeveloper and IBM DB2 Personal Developer's Edition Lite, is expected to make its first appearance in Japan in early August and will retail for ¥1,980 (US$18), More information is available in this press release (in Japanese).
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Web Site News |
New distribution additions
- Snøfrix. Snøfrix is a demonstration CD for everyone who wants to try Free Software on Linux, with an emphasis on education, entertainment, and multimedia. Ideally, it should contain all the programs needed for daily computer use, in an appealing and easy-to-use format. The main characteristic of Snøfrix is a large selection of games, including FreeCiv, Frozen Bubble, and Tux Racer. Snøfrix includes standard office software, with Kontact/KMail for mail and OpenOffice.org for word processing, and standard internet software, with Firefox for web browsing and Gaim for Instant Messaging. The project provides localised CD images with support for several European languages.
- Tugux GNU/Linux. Tugux GNU/Linux is an independently developed Portuguese Linux distribution. It includes a custom package manager with automatic dependency resolution as well as a convenient method of compiling source code into binary packages.
- Tumix. TumiX is a Peruvian Linux distribution based on Slackware and SLAX. It provides the KDE desktop environment together with a large number of academic, office and multimedia applications. The distribution is targeted at colleges, universities and Peruvian educational institutions in general in order to help teaching and understanding GNU/Linux and to spread the use of Free Software in Peru. Tumix is an initiative of the Peruvian Community of Free Software and is distributed under the General Public License.
- Underground Desktop. Underground Desktop is a GNU/Linux distribution targeted at the desktop user. It is based on Debian's unstable branch and features graphical installation (using Anaconda for Debian by Progeny). Its main features are ease of installation, kernel optimisation for modern processors (i686), and the KDE desktop.
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New on the waiting list
- Atomix Linux. Atomix Linux is a stable, robust, and highly secure operating system suitable for web servers, routers and firewalls, for professional application development (especially web development), and office use. The main desktop environment is KDE, but XFce and WindowMaker are also available. Atomix Linux uses RPM and yum for package management, while Python is the main programming language for application development and system administration.
- BOSS (BSI OSS Security Suite). BOSS (BSI OSS Security Suite) is German security-oriented live CD based on KNOPPIX and built around the Nessus security scanner.
- The Jackass! Project. The Jackass! Project is an enhanced version of Gentoo Linux 2005.0 that is based upon Bob Predaina's Stage 1 + NPTL on a Stage 3 Tarball installation method. The Stage 1/3 installation method was used to build an optimised toolkit that includes a GCC 3.4.3 compiler that has been optimised for the x86 hardware platform using an optimised set of CFLAGS. This toolkit also provides integrated support for the Native Posix Threading Library (NPTL). As a result, this toolkit significantly outperforms plain-vanilla Gentoo (and probably every other Linux distribution that runs on the x86 platform). The purpose of The Jackass! Project is to create a set of unofficial x86 installation media (bootable installation CDs and Stage 3 tarballs) for the 2005.0 release of Gentoo Linux that contain The Jackass! Toolkit.
- LDIOS. LDIOS (Linux Desktop Initiation Operating System) is a Linux distribution aimed at those totally new to Linux. The goal is to make Linux easy to install, easy to configure, easy to use and easy to update. LDIOS contains the KDE window manager, IceWM, recent stable applications and core components, and applications that would be easy for current Windows users to use.
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DistroWatch database summary
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| Xearth, Xplanet & KWorldClock (by Robert Storey) |
Xearth, Xplanet & KWorldClock
A friend of mine once sent me a post card with a picture of the entire planet Earth taken from space. On the back it said, "Wish you were here."
- Steven Wright
I have to admit, when I learned that Mark Shuttleworth (creator of Ubuntu) took a US$20 million joyride to the International Space Station, I was just a little envious. OK, maybe more than a little. Then again, I'll bet that Mark has never been to Seldovia, Alaska, where I'm planning to spend my vacation next month. So there.
But I digress. In the past year we've seen two rovers land on Mars, the Cassini/Huygens mission sent back closeups of Saturn's moon Titan, and Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds has just been released. So "space" has been on my mind lately.
Although I'm not expecting an offer to pilot the next Space Shuttle mission, I nevertheless was inspired to try out Xearth and Xplanet. Both are "interactive wallpapers",but they are more than that. As you might have guessed, Xearth renders an image of the Earth on your computer's screen. Xplanet ups the ante with real photos of Earth and the other planets. Both programs allow a considerable amount of tweaking.
Xearth
Xearth was originally written by Kirk Johnson when he was a student at MIT. Kirk later moved to the University of Colorado, but the project's web page suggests that Xearth is no longer being maintained. However, Xearth was later ported to Windows and Mac. You can still download the Xearth tarball from where Kirk originally put it, in his ftp folder at MIT. Debian users can simply do an apt-get install xearth.
At the most basic level, you can launch Xearth simply by opening an Xterm and typing xearth. This will reward you with an image of planet Earth - the vantage point is determined by the current position of the Sun. No geographical features are shown other than land and sea, plus a few large lakes. Rivers, mountains and political boundaries are not displayed, though some major cities around the globe are labeled. Although stars dot the background, they are randomly generated and do not represent real constellations. As the Earth rotates, the image is updated once every five minutes (though this can be changed with a command line option).
Xearth
Speaking of command line options, there are quite a few of them. For example, if you prefer to view the Earth from the current position of the Moon, you can type this:
xearth -pos moon
You can make other drastic alterations of your vantage point, such as specifying latitude and longitude. You can also make the background stars bigger and brighter, or you can choose not to display them at all. Really, the number of options is almost breathtaking, and fortunately the Xearth man page does a good job of explaining them.
If you're happy with Xearth and would like to have it start every time you run X, you could put a line like this into your .xinitrc file:
exec xearth &
Xplanet
Xearth is good, but it's fallen down somewhat in popularity, most likely because of the competition from Xplanet. However, I wouldn't say that Xplanet is simply Xearth-plus - it feels like a different program, with different capabilities. Of course, the best way to judge the Xplanet's potential is to install it - you'll find the source tarball at the Xplanet home page on SourceForge. Again, Debian users can do an apt-get install xplanet, but this won't give you much joy because it doesn't install images. To add those, do apt-get install xplanet-images. And even if you are a Debian user, visit the Xplanet site anyway to pick up some extra maps and scripts.
The first time I ran Xplanet, I was disappointed - the image was just too dark. It's kind of a pity that Xplanet does not have options to adjust brightness. Nevertheless, I improved on the situation by firing up Gimp and used it to brighten up file /usr/share/xplanet/images/earth.jpg. Even then, the shadowed side of the Earth was too dark - the bright lights of the cities were barely visible. I was able to improve on this situation only by adjusting my monitor settings. However, I do wish that Xplanet had an option to brighten the screen.
Xplanet
After exploring the excellent Xplanet man page, it soon became obvious that I could make this "wallpaper" much more exciting. For example, if you want to see a little more action, try this:
xplanet -wait 10 -timewarp 1000 -latitude 60n -longitude -60
This will update the image once every 10 seconds, and speed the Earth's rotation by 1000 times. We are also viewing the planet from 60 degrees north latitude and 60 degrees west. At this time of year (summer in the northern hemisphere), it's nice to have a vantage point in the far north so that we can see the Arctic ice cap (the Antarctic is currently submerged in darkness).
Interesting as the Earth is, there's no reason to limit your screen's real estate to our home planet. Once I downloaded a Mars image, it was this easy to set up:
xplanet -body mars
Again, you can apply the wait and timewarp options if you like to make the planet rotate faster.
Although until now I've been calling Xplanet "wallpaper", you can actually turn it into a screensaver with the idlewait option. For example, to make Xplanet run after 60 seconds of idle screen activity, you would use this syntax:
xplanet -idlewait 60
Note that this option requires Xplanet to be compiled with the X Screensaver extension.
KWorldClock
Up until now, I've been discussing what amounts to sophisticated eye candy. However, one more map/globe program that I'd like to introduce before leaving this topic is KWorldClock. Like Xearth, running this utility will put a map on your screen (though not a full-screen image). The map correctly shows which parts of the globe currently bathed in daylight or darkness. However, if you put your cursor on a city, it will show the city's name plus the current date and time. The practical use of this program is when you want to call somebody in another time zone far away, and you'd rather not wake them up at 3 am (though I know many geeks to don't go to sleep until sunrise). In fact, I make a fair number of international phone calls, so KWorldClock is actually one of my more heavily used GUI utilities.
KWorldClock
KWorldClock is part of the KDE project - more specifically, part of the KDEtoys package. You can download the source code from here. If you're using one of the major distros, there's a better than even chance that it's already included with a full install.
KWorldClock does have a few options. Take a look at the KWorldClock Handbook for more details. However, if you're looking for entertainment, KWorldClock is far less interesting than either Xearth or Xplanet, even though it's arguably more functional.
Parting Shot
Eye-candy they may be, but both Xearth and Xplanet have brightened my desktop and proved to be mildly educational. Indeed, seeing the night side of the Earth (in Xplanet) all illuminated by artificial lighting made it apparent just how overdeveloped the world is becoming. Perhaps we should be spending more on preserving the planet. As author Kurt Vonnegut once forecasted, at some future date when humans are gone and the UFOs visit our uninhabited Earth, they will encounter a giant billboard that says: "We could have saved it, but we were too damned cheap."
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That's all for today. We hope that you enjoyed this week's DistroWatch Weekly!
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Full list of all issues |
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View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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